The Brooklyn Nets fought back from a 17-point deficit to pull within two in the last minute Sunday at Golden State. The majority of that comeback came on the back of Kyrie Irving, who finished with 38 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range. However, in the game's biggest moment, it was Royce O'Neale who would find the ball in his hands.

With Brooklyn trailing by one with 30 seconds remaining, Irving drove and drew a double team from Draymond Green. The guard surveyed the floor and quickly hit O'Neale, who drained a wide-open triple to give the Nets the win.

The shot is not the first time the forward has delivered in the closing seconds for Brooklyn. O'Neale hit a dagger trey with 16 seconds remaining in Brooklyn's first win of the season. He also came up huge at several key moments in a Jan. 6 win at New Orleans. O'Neale's clutch gene drew a unique reaction from Nets center Nic Claxton this time around.

“He's got big balls,” Claxton said. “He steps up in crunch time.”

The game-winning shot comes after O'Neale broke out of extended struggles during his homecoming at Utah Friday. The forward shot 7-of-15 from 3-point land in the pair of wins after going 7-of-27 over his last five appearances prior. Irving said he never wavered in his trust of his teammate in the big spot.

“For me to draw in the defense, draw in two or three (defenders), and for them to lose their man and Royce be wide open, I thought that was the best shot for our team,” Irving said. “So I gave up the ball and trusted him to make it.”
RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Mikal Bridges in a Pistons jersey with Cade Cunningham

Eric Vincent ·

Chris Paul in a Spurs uniform on left. Victor Wembanyama on right.

Joey Mistretta ·

Jordi Fernandez in Brooklyn Nets gear on one side with a speech bubble that says "DPOY!", Nic Claxton on the other side

Erik Slater ·

“We've had a few games like that over the course of the season where the ball deserves to be in someone else's hands and they have an open look and we've gotta live by it. So it felt good, it's a great team win.”

Nets general manager Sean Marks traded a first-round pick for the veteran this past offseason. Despite his streaky 3-point shooting, O'Neale has bolstered the Nets' wing rotation, a position that was a gaping hole last year. The 29-year-old is averaging 9.3 points while shooting 40.0 percent from deep on 5.6 attempts per game, all career highs.

O'Neale spent the summer training at Brooklyn's facility. The first-year Net said the work he put in leading up to the later stages of the season allows him to be confident in big moments.

“I think the work, coming in every day and working hard at my craft,” O'Neale said of his mindset. “These guys (are) having a lot of trust in me, finding me, and I'm just trusting it and having the confident in myself. Just being that guy.”